Lakin’s Family Reveals Plan to Sue Hospital for Malpractice : Death: Attorney says the chancellor’s flesh-eating disease was not properly diagnosed. The impending suit surprises Los Robles officials.

Relatives of late community college Chancellor Thomas G. Lakin will file a malpractice suit against Los Robles Regional Medical Center for allegedly failing to properly treat the so-called flesh-eating bacteria that killed him days after Thanksgiving, an attorney said Tuesday.

Los Angeles attorney Sandra L. Tyson, who said she is representing Lakin’s widow and four daughters in the case against the hospital and six doctors, said the lawsuit likely will be filed in Ventura County Superior Court on Thursday.

Lakin, the respected chancellor of the three-campus Ventura County Community College District, died from the fast-spreading necrotizing fasciitis on Nov. 27--days after initially complaining of a severe sore throat.

His family said he went to the medical center’s emergency room on Nov. 25--two days before he died--seeking treatment for continuing soreness in his throat.

Lakin, a 50-year-old marathon runner hired by the district in 1991, was sent home after being given a prescription for pain-killing medication, Tyson said.

But he collapsed outside the Los Robles pharmacy on his way to fill the prescription, requiring the help of medical center employees to get back on his feet, Tyson said.

Lakin then was returned to the emergency room, where he was examined a second time before again being released, she said. Lakin’s widow, Karen, was told that her husband had fallen, Tyson said.

Tyson said Tuesday that hospital officials failed to properly diagnose Lakin’s condition, electing to send him home the Friday before he died rather than order further tests.

“This guy should not have died,” Tyson said. “This guy probably shouldn’t have even lost his leg.”

Lakin awoke at home in Thousand Oaks that Saturday morning to severe swelling in his left leg and blood in his urine, Tyson said. He was back at Los Robles before 9 a.m., when more tests were run.

By late Saturday, Tyson said, doctors decided to amputate Lakin’s left leg in a desperate attempt to save his life. But he died Sunday afternoon, never regaining consciousness from the surgery.

“When I was contacted by the family, I certainly did not anticipate finding out what I did,” Tyson said. “I was really shocked at the number of delays in responding to very critical warning signs and abnormal test findings.”

Lakin “had evidence of tissue destruction going on at an accelerated rate at 8:45 Saturday morning,” she said.

Ken Underwood, Los Robles’ interim administrator, said Tuesday that he could not comment because he has not yet reviewed the complaint. But he said he was surprised to learn of the suit.

“The family was very complimentary of the care provided,” Underwood said. “So I’m extremely surprised by the lawsuit.”

In an interview Tuesday, Tyson questioned a decision not to use the hyperbaric chamber at Los Robles, an oxygen-rich treatment that saved five other necrotizing fasciitis patients in Ventura County within the past year.

“This guy had normal blood pressure throughout the day,” Tyson said, “so I don’t think there was any reason not to start hyperbaric treatment.”

Hospital officials told family members that the chamber was not an option for Lakin because of a sharp drop in his blood pressure the day before he died, Tyson said.

While the suit seeks unspecified damages, state law limits the pain and suffering award to $250,000, according to Tyson. But the attorney plans to seek additional compensation based on the income lost to the Lakin family.

The chancellor earned about $120,000 annually.

Lakin is survived by his wife, two adult daughters and two small daughters. Tyson said Lakin cashed in his life insurance policy several years ago to pay tuition for one of his daughter’s at Harvard University.